After getting back from Memphis, we've spent so much time debating Elvis Presley vs Carl Perkins that I've forgotten to blog about all the awesome stuff we've done this month. It's been a busy month for us. We've had visitors and dinner parties and races and rock and roll and on and on; it's exhausting just thinking about it.

The day after we got back from Memphis, we picked Nana (Kirsten's Mom) up from the airport. She was supposed to go with us to Memphis but unfortunately wasn't able to. We were sad that she couldn't see Graceland with us so it was nice to have her stay here in Nashville.


Ira and Nana playing.


Ira naps with Nana.

Two weeks after Nana stayed with us, we participated in the Purity Dairy Dash 5K/10K. Kirsten's done this sort of thing before, but this was the first 5K for Ira and me. We had a lot of fun, even though there were a lot of people who ran the 10K faster than we walked the 5K. They handed out ice cream sandwiches at the end, which was a little weird.



Ira and Mommy going for the gold.


At the finish line. As you can see, we kept a very leisurely pace.

After the race we kicked off our week of music. It all started when our good friends The Besties came to town to play a show. Ira couldn't pass for 21 months much less 21 years old, and, since they ID at the Five Spot, Ira had to stay at home while Mommy and Daddy went out for the night. Ira stayed with Chris and Lindsey, his first official babysitters (Thanks, guys!). Even though he missed the show, Ira got to hang with The Besties when they came over and made us dinner. For those of you who don't know, The Besties are our old friends from Tallahasse - Marisa, Kelly, and Rikky - plus our new friend Frank.


Frank, Rikky, Marisa, Kelly and Ira.

Although it was great to see those guys again, the highpoint of the week for me came Saturday afternoon. We went back to Grimey's for the first annual Record Store Day. There were cheap records, undercooked veggie burgers, and, most importantly, David Berman, the singer of the my favorite band the Silver Jews. I met him once before in Athens, GA, and luckily he didn't seem to remember my starstruck blubbering from that night. I managed to hold it together this time, and we got a nice family picture and talked about our trips to Israel.



Later that day we all went to the Rites of Spring festival at Vanderbilt with Ira's babysitters, Chris and Lindsey. We weren't sure how Ira would handle the large crowds and loud noise, but he was pretty happy to be there. I don't know if he liked the music, but he was into the flashing lights. As a testament to the resilience of a baby, he actually fell asleep in the midst of all the chaos.






This is right before he fell asleep.


This was, by no means, the end of the month, but it's all we took pictures of. Last week was the end of the semester so I was busy with homework. Yesterday we went to watch runners at the finish line of the Music City Marathon, and I'll post pictures as soon as I get them. I've a couple of new videos to post, but I won't be able to do it tonight so look for those soon. Ira's really growing and starting to move all over the place. He hasn't mastered crawling yet- he's still dragging himself across the floor- but he's already trying to walk. We'll keep you updated as things progress.

Soulsville USA

We were supposed to meet Kirsten's parents in Memphis this weekend, but unfortunately Kirsten's dad was unable to travel due to health concerns. On the bright side, we were still able to go to Memphis by ourselves, and we had a great time. We stayed on the end of Lonely St. (seriously) at the ridiculous and wonderful Heartbreak Hotel, just across the street from Graceland, a place I've always dreamed of visiting. You should check out all of the pictures of our trip, if you want, though I'm posting a few of my favorites here.



This is absolutely my favorite picture from Graceland. Priscilla and Lisa Marie, Kirsten and Ira. It's poetic.


We weren't sure what Ira would think about Graceland. Obviously, he was enthralled.


Another great picture. For some reason (probably the embroidered tiger jumpsuit) Ira was very happy here. We tried to find a jumpsuit like this in his size, but, alas, we were unable. I'm sure though, if determined enough, my mom and Aunt Beth could find one.


A somber moment for the family as we pay our respects at The King's grave.


A not so somber moment, though still graveside.


Here, we're about to board Elvis's plane, the Lisa Marie. Ira, however, was tired of Graceland.


For this last picture you're going to have to use your imagination. This is the Stax Records Museum of American Soul Music, the coolest museum in the world. Stax records was like the Motown of the South, home to Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, and tons of the best musicians in the world of soul music. For some reason, they don't allow cameras in the museum so you don't get to see how much fun we had. There was a dance floor with flashing lights and life-size projections of Soul Train dancers, and Ira loved it. Kirsten got down (literally) on the floor with Ira, and they danced for at least 20 minutes. I think the docent knew how cute this was and that I was going to take a picture as soon as he turned his back because he watched me like a hawk. So I'm sorry. You would have loved it.

We also went down to Beale St., but Ira was not into it. He stayed in the stroller hiding from the drizzling rain. I didn't take any pictures, but you're not missing anything. We're definitely going back to Memphis again in the future, back to the Stax Museum and to check out the Civil Rights Museum (when Ira's older) and maybe the zoo. All in all, Memphis is a pretty cool town.

Irapalooza!!!!!!!

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy so I haven't posted in awhile. But, believe me, I'm going to make it up to you. I've got quite a few pictures and two really great videos for you.

You're welcome.


One reason I didn't post last weekend: we had some visitors staying with us. Ira's Poppy, Nonny, and Uncle Jo came to Nashville to celebrate my birthday.

At least that's what they said they were here for. Secretly, I think they just came to see Ira. Not that I blame them.

He is the world's most beautiful baby.

Ira with Poppy and Uncle Jo in the Arcade, Downtown Nashville.



Ira and Nonny in the Arcade.



Ira and Uncle Jo relaxing at home.







After our guests left, we celebrated my birthday by taking a big nap.

And then we went to the Frist Art Museum for Free Day. There were so many people there we didn't get into the main exhibit, but we did get to walk around the Aaron Douglas exhibit upstairs. That's where we are in this blurry picture.




Ira took a passing interest in the art but was more interested in getting back home to nap some more.




Two weeks ago we took pictures of Ira in the snow. Yesterday we went to Centennial Park to enjoy some beautiful spring weather.

It's been crazy.

Our sinuses have gone on strike to protest the extreme weather discrepancies. Nevertheless, we had a great time at the park.

Ira was mystified by his first encounter with grass.







Today Ira went to two birthday parties with Kirsten. This picture is from one of the parties.

Could he be any cuter?



To answer that last question: Yes, he could be cuter. Just watch these videos. The first is Ira playing with some Easter eggs.

Notice anything?

That's right, he's sitting up on his own. Genius.




The second video is extra cute. Ubercute, even. If hurricanes were powered by cuteness, Hurricane Ira would be a category six.

It's really cute.

Snowtastic!

Even though last weekend was perfect T-shirt weather, last night it snowed; in fact it was the most snow Kirsten and I have seen since we've been in Nashville. Ira's not quite ready for snow angels or snow ball fights, but he did get to spend a little time with Mommy out in the snow. As you can see from the pictures, he was kind of interested by the snow but also kind of confused and kind of frustrated. They were just outside long enough to snap a few photos. Maybe next year we can build a snow man.

Video 'Splosion

I made some cool videos with Ira today. The first one is him rolling over. He is a professional roller-over, on par with some of the best roller-overs in the world. What poise. What finesse. I'd even go so far as to use the phrase "gossamer-like grace." He's that good. Just watch. The other two videos were made after Ira rolled over. In one he stares at the camera and then blows a big spit bubble. Awesome. And in the other he sticks his tongue out over and over again. If you know of anyone who's holding a "Cutest Baby in the World" contest, go ahead and tell them that it's already over. We have our winner.











Also, while we're here, we took Ira to JC Penny and got some pictures made. I don't need to remind you how beautiful he is. The pictures do that on their own. Here's a few of them.








Alright. I'll admit that this last one is a little goofy.



You can see the rest of the set at:

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0461104654JCPSHR

Use Kirsten Holley as the customer name. If you want, you can order pictures for yourself.

It's been over two weeks now since my last post, and I have to apologize. I feel like a dead beat dad, neglecting my parental duties. Sure this isn't technically a "parental duty," but if I want to be Dad2.0 I've gotta keep up, right? But I do have a bit of an excuse. Ira has started rolling over, and we wanted to have an awesome video to post so everyone could share in the joy of watching the world's smartest baby perform his awe-inspiring feats of amazement. Unfortunately, catching Ira rolling over on video is like capturing footage of the elusive Chupacabra. We'd film Ira lying on the floor staring at the camera for what seemed like hours, and then, just after we'd stop filming, he'd roll. Parenting is going to get much easier when we can communicate together verbally. But you're not here to listen to my excuses or hear all about the videos you're not going to get to see, are you? I'll stop wasting your time and get to the good stuff.

This is Ira and me at Grimey's, a record store here in Nashville. We went to see a band whose name I can't remember. They weren't very good, but it was nice to get out and hear some live music in the middle of the afternoon with our son. I wish there were more options for outings like this.

Here's Ira and Kirsten reading a book together. Tennessee might not have the best education system in the country, but they do have a great program called Books from Birth. Until Ira turns five, he'll get a new, free book in the mail every month. This fabulous idea was thought up by none other than Dolly Parton, truly a great Tennessean.

Here's some video of Kirsten tickling Ira, and Ira trying to pull Kirsten's hair.

Get Notified

There will come a point when I stop feeling motivated to update as regularly as I have been. When that time comes, you might not want to check the blog every day just to look at the same old pictures and videos (although I could look at those pictures everyday, and I know Kirsten does). If you look to the the right you'll see something that says, "Tell me when this blog is updated." Put in your email address and click on "Keep it fresh." You'll be taken to the blogarithm web site and instructed to create an account. After you do this, you'll receive an email notification every time the blog gets updated. Nice, huh? If you're a little more tech savvy you can get an RSS feed sent to your feed reader, but if you know what that means, you probably already know how to do that.

Now that we've taken care of that business, here's a picture of Ira doing some transcendental meditation.